BESSIE WETZELL
U OF ORE
NEWSPAPER LIB
EUGENE OR 97403
IIEPPNER
MERCHANTS
THURSDAY, FRIDAY
SATURDAY,
FEB. 16,17,18
(tfr 1 .Ann ni- i nil 1
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A. r' j
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- 7 . ,
Sunshine Blue Bird Sandy Turner rates i' big hug from Grandma Nora Turner for the
handmade Valentine she gave her during a soroptomist-Blue Bird party held for Pioneer
Memorial Hospital nursing home residents Tuesday.
Blue Birds 9
Soroptomists
treat PMH
residents on
Valentines
Day
BMCC considering spring term classes
Blue Mountain Community
College Evening Division has
arranged a slate of local
spring term classes, based on
interest expressed here, that
offers something for almost
every potential student in
south Morrow County.
Classes being considered for
spring include tennis, draw
ing, expectant parent class,
history of World War II, basic
spoken Spanish, intermediate
tole painting, multi-media art,
guitar, upholstery, micro
wave cooking, golf, hunt seat
' riding, and botany.
Specific information on any
of, the listed classes can be
obtained from Nancy Brown
field, coordinator for BMCC
evening classes, 676-5039.
The final schedule will be
printed in the Gazette-Times
on March 9 with pre-registra-tion
forms. Everyone will be
encouraged to fill out me
forms and mail them in as
...kiss and a hugl
Heppner Soroptomists and the Sunshine Blue Birds
combined forces Tuesday to treat residents in the Pioneer
Memorial Hospital nursing home to a Valentine's party that
included goodies, music and, of course, lace-trimmed paper
hearts.
Thirteen first-grade Blue Birds, under the leadership of
Irene Plocharsky made and distributed the hearts, to each
senior citizen. They also sang appropriate Valentine's songs,
including, "Make New Friends, But Keep the Old".
A table loaded with cookies, jelly rolls, coffee and punch
was provided by the Soroptomists for the occasion, who also
donated small bottles of hand lotion passed out by the Blue
Birds. Marlene Gray, chairman of the service objectives
committee, was in charge of the Valentine's project.
Piano music by Ola Mae Groshens and her music student
Jojean Stevens, provided a backdrop for the afternoon's
festivities.
soon as possible since many of
the classes have limited
enrollment.
Lumberjack show
planned in April
The First Annual Heppner
Spring Lumberjack Show will
be held Saturday, April 15 at
the Morrow County Fair
grounds. The Morrow County Fair
Board is sponsoring the Lum
berjack Show in conjunction
with the 1978 Fair & Rodeo.
Gary Grieb and Jim Launer
are co-chairmen for the show
and plans for the event are
now being discussed. Tech
nical assistance is being
offered by members of the
Northwest Loggers Associa
Any suggestions for addi
tional classes should be direc
ted to Mrs. Brownfield.
tion. Full details will be
announced at a later date.
Weather
HI
52
48
38
38
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40
41
Lo Pre
36
32
28
28
21
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24 .01
Wed, Feb. 8
Thurs, Feb. 9
Fri,Feb. 10
Sat, Feb. 11
Sun, Feb. 12
Mon, Feb. 13
Tues, Feb. 14
THE
fl
VOL. 96
NO. 7
pecial Chamber committee
look at
A special committee to
study Heppner 's flood plain
and the related effects it will
have on community growth
and economic stability has
been formed by the Heppner
Morrow County Chamber of
Commerce.
Chamber President Don
Cole said this week that
because of the apparently
adverse implications posed by
Heppner's flood plain which
encompasses all of the com
mercial sector and much of
the residential area Cham
ber officials felt the necessary
and correct information
should be brought before the
people.
The City of Heppner is
currently under the gun to
pass an ordinance for compli
ance with the federally funded
flood insurance program. If
the city does not adopt the
ordinance then flood insur
ance would not be available
locally and consequently, a
person could not finance a
business or home through any
of the commercial lending
institutions unless the require
ments of the ordinance were
met.
The ordinance would basic
Council greases skids for
new apartment complex
The Heppner City Council
last week greased the skids for
a new apartment complex on
Elder Street by assuring a
Gresham builder that his
building permit application is
one step away from final
approval.
At the Feb. 7 council
meeting, Mayor Jerry Swee
ney told Kenneth Hardy of
Cason and Hardy Construction
Co., the permit would proba
bly be issued later this month
pending final endorsement by
the city engineer. Sweeney
made the statement after
receiving the unanimous sup
port of the four councilmen
present.
Councilmen Jim Rogers,
Hubert Wilson, Bob Jones and
Cliff Green all indicated they
were in favor of granting the
permit as a means of stimula
ting growth in the city. Last
fall, the proposed 24-unit
apartment complex had gen
erated heated opposition from
neighboring residents who
were concerned over the
increased traffic load the
apartments would bring to the
area.
As a result of the citizen
complaints, the Heppner Plan
ning Commission had denied
Cason and Hardy's conditional
use application but the deci
sion was later overturned by
the Council.
Hardy returned to the Feb.
11 meeting to ask the Council
for a clearer picture on the
ability of the city water
system to service the project
area.
"In previous conversations
with the Planning Commission
AZETTE-TIM
HEPPNER, OREGON
Heppner flood plain
ally restrict all building in the
flood plain including exten
sive remodeling unless the
building was flood-proofed to a
level of five feet above the
street.
Flood-proofing a building
means water-tight. Hatches
would have to be installed that
could easily be pulled over
doors and windows, for in
stance. "No one seems to know
exactly what effect the ordi
nance would have on future
construction," said Cole, "and
what we plan to do is answer
those questions and explore
the alternatives.
Among the alternatives that
could solve the flood plain
problem for Heppner is con
struction of the Willow Creek
Dam.
Interest in the dam has been
resurrected in recent weeks
with the announcement by
Senator Mark Hatfield's office
that funding for the dam has a
good chance of being obtained.
A meeting held last week
'tplease see story in this issue)
at the courthouse concerning
the dam saw about 60 citizens
turn out. A show of hands vote
showed that 30 people were in
and City Council, I've heard
the water line could be
inadequate" Hardy said. "I
need to know if there is a
problem with the water line."
Hardy said if there were no
problem, or if the city was
prepared to upgrade the
system with no additional cost
to his company, Cason and
Hardy was willing to pay the
full $539 building permit fee.
The total estimated cost for
the project is $268,000. The
one-bedroom units will rent
for approximately $200 per
month.
Although the water supply
situation is still under study, a
representative of the city
engineer's office said he
thought the present four inch
water line serving the neigh
borhood would have to be
replaced with a six inch line.
Green noted the fire chief
would probably request an
PNB franchise
gets city OK
After a battle of attrition
lasting several months, the
Heppner City Council last
week reached middle ground
with Pacific Northwest Bell
and agreed to accept a new
20-year franchise agreement
with the utility company.
Under the advisement of the
City Attorney's office, the
Council had held off amending
the previous agreement
which expired last October
until the section covering
relocation of utility equipment
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1978
favor of constructing the dam
while 17 were opposed to
construction. Fifteen of those
present did not show a
preference.
A straw ballot conducted
over the past two weeks by the
Gazette-Times shows that 41
people favored the dam while
48 opposed the dam. (Please
see separate story in this
issue.)
Cole said Terry M. Hager,
managing editor of The Gazette-Times
has been ap
pointed to chair the commit
tee. The remainder of the
committee will be comprised
of downtown business people,
water control district repre
sentatives and the general
populace. Cole said committee
appointments were expected
by the end of this week.
The committee has tenta
tively set a public meeting for
the last week of February at
which time resource people
from the Flood Insurance
Administration, Corp of Engi
neers, and local government
will be on hand to fully explain
the flood plain and the Willow
Creek Dam.
A fact sheet and analysis of
the information compiled will
other hydrant in the area.
"After considering the fire
main and the number of users
on the water line (six present
users plus the proposed 24
additional), this is not an
adequate water supply," said
Bob Richardson of Val Tor
onto and Associates.
It was estimated that 600
feet of line would have to be
replaced to bring the water
and fire coverage up to
standards. Hardy said the job
could be done on a bid basis
for approximately $5-6 per
linear foot, part of which
would be recovered from the
$300 per unit water hook-up
fee.
Sweeney said it would not be
the responsibility of Cason and
Hardy to upgrade the water
system, adding, "If the city
grants the building permit, it's
up to the city to make sure
there is sufficient water".
was clarified. Bill Kuhn of the
City Attorney's office said the
proposal, as presented by
Pacific Northwest Bell, could
limit the city in the number of
incidents it could request the
phone company to move poles,
wires or other fixtures from
city streets or public ease
ments. An alternate proposal, sub
mitted by Kuhn on behalf of
the city and calling for the
Continued on page 3
also be made public by the
committee at that time.
"We hope that by providing
clear, concise information to
the people affected by the
flood plain, they can make
their comments and indicate
to their elected officials what
they would like to have
done. ..whether it be nothing,
passage of the ordinance or
News
Monday is holiday
for many, not all
Calendars differ, but whether it's called President's Day
or Washington's Day, Monday, Feb. 20, is a legal holiday
which will be observed by federal, state, county and city
offices including the Post Office. Local banks also plan to
observe the holiday.
Generally, county residents can look forward to business
as usual, however. All Morrow County schools will be open and
Kinzua Corp. will maintain normal operation. Most area
merchants and businesses, including the Gazette-Times, will
remain open Monday. .
Special council
session set Tuesday
The Heppner City Council has scheduled a special
council meeting for Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 7:30 p.m. in City
Hall.
Included on the agenda will be a public hearing on the
city's Comprehensive Plan. Members of the Heppner
Planning Commission will attend the hearing.
The Council will also consider several city building
permit applications including that of Cason and Hardy
Construction Co, of Gresham. The company is seeking to
build a 24-unit apartment complex on Elder Street.
Recording star to
be here for Fair
Jeris Ross, recording star from Nashville, Tennessee,
will be the featured performer on Family Fun Night,
scheduled Saturday, Aug. 19, during the 1978 Morrow County
Fair and Rodeo, the Fair Committee announced this week.
Ms. Ross has recorded "A Brand-new Key" and "An Old
Fashioned Love Song" and will sing both country-western
and popular songs during her Heppner performance.
The Fair Committee expects Ms. Ross, accompanied by
a four-piece band, to be a much enjoyed feature of this year's
Fun Night.
Planning Commission
member resigns
Irene Anhorn, a member of the Heppner Planning
Commission, last week submitted her resignation from the
Commission, citing lack of concern on the part of the City
Council concerning the actions of the Library Board of
Trustees.
In her letter of resignation, Mrs. Anhorn said, "I could
not continue working for a group that could do the 'snow job
on a delegation to the Council, that the library volunteers
were given (at last week's City Council meeting)."
Mrs. Anhorn said she was not satisfied with the Council's
response to contentions by the library volunteers that the
Board of Trustees was overstepping its authority regarding
book selection procedures.
School budget set
for Monday hearing
The February meeting of the Morrow County School
Board will be held at Heppner Elementary School on
Monday, Feb. 20, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
The meeting will open with . public hearing on the
proposed budget for the Fiscal Year 1978-79, and the regular
business session will follow.
Scheduled for discussion during the business portion will
be; review of probationary contracts for all Certificated
Personel, sale of school bus and other district property and
preliminary discussion of the school calendar for next year.
14 PAGES
15c
to
construction of the Willow
Creek Dam," said Hager.
"The Chamber committee
will act in a completely
unbiased manner in present
ing the information," said
Hager, "but a recommenda
tion will be made to the
general membership of the
Chamber at its Feb. 27
meeting."
Briefs